Cattle-guard.



- N0. 629,305. Pathted luiy I8, |899.

J. W. RUSS.

' CATTLE GUARD.

(Appucatiun med me. 29, 189s.)

filo Model.)

"HMH-11H1@ i a,

A 'AF-n "mim /NVENTOH A TTOHNE YS.

JOSEPH WILLIAMRoss, on SOUTH cnRnoLL'roN, KnnrUoiv.A` i

cATTLjEv-GUAARD. l f

sPncInIcATIoN forming 'part `of Lea-ers ratentmjeaaeo, dated .myv 1s,189e.

Application and haatte29,1398.j Seraing, 700,681. mummia.)

To all whom t may concern,.-

V Be it known that I, JOSEPH WILLIAM Ross, of South Carrollton, in .thecounty of Muhlenberg and Stateof Kentucky, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Cattle-A Guards, of which the following isaspecifica-V tion. My invention' relates to cattle-guards of that form inwhich a railroad lcrossesa fence-line and is provided forl someldistance alongits track with an impassable road-bed armed with l spikesto prevent cattle from passing down the track in their effort to getthrough the gap in the fence-line.

My invention consists in the peculiar construction and arrangement ofsuch impassable' road-bed, as will be hereinafter more fully shown anddescribed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in whichf-Figure 1 is a plan view. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section.Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section, and Fig.' 4 a detail view.

Inl the drawings, A A represent the two rails of a line ofrailroad-track which crosses a fence-line, as shown at X X.

B are thev railroad-ties, upon which the railf road-rails are ksecuredin theusual way., Y

C is the impassable road-bed or barrier.

This is composed of heavy sheet metal bent in zigzag shape, formingtrough-like or V- shaped depressionsa at the bottom, extending down intothe spaces between the ties and extending up into angular ridges b somelittle distance above the ties and parallel with them the sides of themetal sheet between the troughs and alternating ridges being of equallength and'arranged at an equal inclination of forty-live degrees andbeing secured by spikes or otherwise/tthe top edges of the ties, whoseangles/are beveled orcut off at c to forln a iiat bearing for saidsheet. Along the ridges h and :in the trough c there are iixed rows ofspikes e, projecting upwardly and from one toA four inches long. Thesespikes :may be applied to the sheet metal sep-- arately or they may bestamped out of the sheet metal and turned up, as seen at y, Fig. 3, orthey may be cast on strips, as seen in Fig. 4, and they strips appliedto the sheet metal. This spiked barrier-bed is placed between the railsand also for some distance outside the rails, as seen at C'.

Atthe joint. between the railsiand the Vd i shaped angles of the platesC there are vertical strips D, having v tonguesd'., that extenddownwardlybetween the ties and close the the feet of` cattle from 'being,caught in the holes in case they attempt to cross, so that if theygetuponthe barrier4 they will not be hung there by getting their feetcaught, and if a train passes the engine `can easily clear Athrown fromltherails, which mightbe the casefifthe cattle were ydownl with theirlegs entangled in these openings. Instead of using these verticalguard-plates D the zigzag strips may. have 4horizontal Vtonguesextending under the rails, as shown at C2.

I am aware that an im passable barrier has heretofore been formed ofspikes and also that zigaag rplates armed with spikes 'have also beenseparately used, and Ido not claim these features broadly. My inventionis distinctive in the fact that the spiked and ziginidway between theirupper and-lower angles This secures a number of very important results,viz: First, it gives a nailing for the plates into the ties to hold themtogether at a convenient position and a convenient angle for drivingthespikes; second, the ties aord a sti backing for the plates at a pointmidway between their top and bottom angles where they are speciallyweakand liable to be indented by the hoofs of animals, and, third," thetie has an air-space both on its top and its sides, which permits acirculation of air and keeps the tie from holding moisture,'which 'wouldrapidlyrot it away.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim as new, and desire to`secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A cattle-guard consisting of the combination of the railway-tieshaving their upper edges beveled or cut olf at an incline, and zigzagplates having upwardly-projecting spikes and inclined sides of equalinclination and length resting against the cut-oft edges of the ties ata point midway between their upper and lower angles and formingtrough-like depressions dipping below the rails and ridges arrangedparallel with and above the tie,with

- UNITED* STATES PATIENT-i OF1C-E- bottom ofthe V-shaped openings leftby the n them off the track instead of being itself zag plates have abearing on the ties at a point Y IOO ties substantially as and 'for thepurpose described.

2. A'eatLle-guard consisting of the combi-` clination and length restingagainst che eut-y off edges of the ties midway between their up- Io perand lower angles and forming trough-like yair-spaces, both along the topand sides of the I depressions dipping below the rails and ridgesarranged parallel with and above the Lies and guard-plates arrangedgarallel to the rails and provided with tongues lilling the spacesbetween the rails and the zigzag pla-tes substan- 1 tially as and forthe purpose described.

JOSEPH TILLIAM ROSS.

lVitnesses:

' J. E. WooDsoN, A.. T. GLENN.

